Mudslide traps cars on U.S. 24 west of Manitou Springs

A mudslide closed U.S. 24 west of Manitou Springs on Wednesday afternoon, trapping about 20 cars in deep muck.

Video showed one car being swept down the road, but the Colorado Department of Transportation said there were no injuries.

Eastbound U.S. 24 reopened after 6 p.m., and westbound opened an hour later.

A flash flood warning issued for the Waldo Canyon burn scar area and Manitou Springs expired at 6 p.m. More than one-half inch of rain was reported in 10 minutes in the upper part of the canyon and more than one inch of rain in total.

At one point, the Manitou Springs Fire Department urged residents near Fountain Creek to move to higher ground. As a precaution, the Red Cross opened a shelter at the 1st Congregational Church in Manitou Springs, and some of the occupants of the stranded cars were being taken there.

A woman with Washington plates is escorted down U.S. 24 after a flash flood Wednesday near last year's Waldo Canyon Fire area. The mudslide and flash flood occurred west of Manitou Springs. (Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

No flooding or damage was reported in the town.

Meanwhile, in Black Forest, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said water was up to 30 inches deep in places at the height of flooding, and Shoup Road was briefly closed.

A series of storms moved across Colorado starting Wednesday afternoon, some of them featuring isolated heavy rain and hail.

The storms began to develop in the mountains and foothills and moved eastward late Wednesday afternoon and into the early evening.

Mud covers the ramp leading from Manitou Springs on Wednesday. The area is a flash flood risk because of its proximity to last year's Waldo Canyon Fire. (Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

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